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GOOD FRIDAY 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA Ltd 

TORONTO 



GOOD FEIDAY 



A DRAMATIC POEM 



/ 



JOHN MASEFIELD 

AUTHOR OF '' 
BE 

POMPEY THE great/' ETC. 



Niem fork 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1915 

All rights reserved 



i 



copy Z. 



\C0PYKIGHT, 1915 / 

By JOHN MASEFIELD ' 
Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1915. 



©CI.D 4255G ^ 

DEC 2^ 1915 



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GOOD FRIDAY 



PERSONS 

Pontius Pilate, Procurator of Judspa. 
Procula, His Wife. 
LoNGiNUS, A Centurion. 
A Jew, Leader of the Rabble. 
A Madman. 
A Sentry. 
Joseph of Ramah. 
Herod. 

Soldiers, Servants, the Jewish Rabble, Loiterers, 
Idlers. 



THE SCENE 

The Pavementy or Paved Court, outside the Roman Citadel in 
Jerusalem. At the hack is the barrack wall, pierced in the 
centre with a double bronze door, weathered to a green 
color. On the right and left sides of the stage are battle- 
mented parapets overlooking the city. The stage or pave- 
ment is approached by stone steps from the front, and by 
narrow stone staircases in the wings, one on each side well 
forward. These steps are to suggest that the citadel is high 
up above the town, and that the main barrack gate is below. 
The Chief Citizen, The Rabble, Joseph, The Mad- 
man, Herod, and The Loiterers, etc., enter by these 
steps. Pilate, Procula, Longinus, The Soldiers and 
Servants ep^ter by the bronze doors. 



GOOD FRIDAY 

A DRAMATIC POEM 

Pilate. Longinus. 

LoNGiNus. Lord. 

Pilate [giving scroll]. Your warrant. Take 
the key. 
Go to Barabbas' cell and set him free, 
The mob has chosen him. 

Longinus. And Jesus? 

Pilate. Wait. 

He can be scourged and put outside the gate, 
With warning not to make more trouble here. 
See that the sergeant be not too severe. 
I want to spare him. 

Longinus. And the Jew, the Priest, 

Outside? 

Pilate. I'll see him now. 



4 GOOD FRIDAY 

LoNGiNus. Passover Feast 

Always brings trouble, Lord. All shall be done- 
Dismiss? 

Pilate. Dismiss. [Exit Longinus. 

There's blood about the sun, 
This earthquake weather presses on the brain. 

Enter Procula. 
You? 

Procula. Dear, forgive me, if I come again 
About this Jesus, but I long to know 
What Herod said. Did he dismiss him? 

Pilate. No. 

He sent him back to me for me to try. 
The charge being local. 

Procula. Have you tried him? 

Pilate. Ay 

Henceforth he will be kept outside the walls. 
Now, listen, wife: whatever dream befalls. 
Never again send word to me in Court 
To interrupt a case. The Jews made sport 
Of what you dreamed and what you bade me fear 



GOOD FRIDAY 5 

About this Jesus man. The laws are clear. 
I must apply them, asking nothing more 
Than the proved truth. Now tell me of your 

dream: 
What was it? Tell me then. 

Procula. I saw a gleam 

Reddening the world out of a blackened sky, 
Then in the horror came a hurt thing's cry 
Protesting to the death what no one heard. 

Pilate. What did it say? 

Procula. A cry, no spoken word 

But crying, and a horror, and a sense 
Of one poor man's naked intelhgence. 
Pitted against the world and being crushed. 
Then, waking, there was noise; a rabble rushed 
Following this Jesus here, crying for blood. 
Like beasts half-reptile in a jungle mud. 
And all the horror threatening in the dim. 
In what I dreamed of, seemed to threaten 

him. . . . 
So in my terror I sent word to you. 



6 GOOD FRIDAY 

Begging you dearly to have nought to do 
With that wise man. 

Pilate. I grant he says wise things. 
Too wise by half, and too much wisdom brings 
Trouble, I find. It disagrees with men. 
We must protect him from his wisdom then. 

Procula. What have you done to him? 

Pilate. Made it more hard 

For him to wrangle in the Temple yard 
Henceforth, I hope. 

Enter Longinus. 

Procula. You have not punished him? 

Pilate. Warned him. 

Longinus* The envoy from the Sanhedrim 
Is here, my lord. 

Pilate. Go. I must see him. Stay. 

You and your women, keep within to-day. 
It is the Jewish Feast and blood runs high 
Against us Romans when the zealots cry 
Songs of their old Deliverance through the land. 
Stay, yet. Lord Herod says that he has planned 



GOOD FRIDAY 7 

To visit us tonight, have all prepared. 

Procula. I would have gone to Herod had 
I dared, 
To plead for this man Jesus. All shall be 
Made ready. Dear, my dream oppresses me. 

[Exit. 

Pilate. It is this earthquake weather: it 
will end 
After a shock. Farewell. 

Enter Chief Citizen. 

CmEF CiT. Hail, Lord and friend. 

I come about a man in bonds with you, 
One Jesus, leader of a perverse crew 
That haunts the Temple. 

Pilate. Yes, the man is here. 

Chief Cit. Charged with sedition? 

Pilate. It did not appear 

That he had been seditious. It was proved 
That he had mocked at rites which people loved. 
No more than that. I have just dealt with him. 
You wish to see him? 



8 GOOD FRIDAY 

Ch. Cit. No, the Sanhedrim 

Send me to tell you of his proved intent. 
You know how, not long since, a prophet went 
Through all Judaea turning people's brains 
With talk of One coming to loose their chains? 

Pilate. John the Baptiser whom old Herod 
killed. 

Ch. Cit. The Jews expect that word to be 
fulfilled. 
They think that One will come. This Jesus 

claims 
To be that Man, Son of the Name of Names, 
The Anointed King who will arise and seize 
Israel from Rome and you. Such claims as these 
Might be held mad in other times than ours. 

Pilate. He is not mad. 

Ch. Cit. But when rebellion lowers 

As now, from every hamlet, every farm. 
One word so uttered does unreckoned harm. 

Pilate. How do you know this? 

Ch. Cit. From a man, his friend, 



GOOD FRIDAY 9 

Frightened, by thought of where such claims 

would end. 
There had been rumors, yet we only heard 
The fact but now. We send you instant word, 

Pilate. Yes. This is serious news. Would I 
had known. 
But none the less, this Jesus is alone. 
A common country preacher, as men say. 
No more than that, he leads no big array; 
No one believes his claim? 

Ch. Cit. At present, no. 

He had more friends a little while ago. 
Before he made these claims of being King. 

Pilate. You know about him then? 

Ch. Cit. His ministering 

Was known to us, of course. 

Pilate. And disapproved? 

Ch. Cit. Not wholly, no; some, truly; some 
we loved. 
At first he only preached. He preaches well. 

Pilate. What of? 



10 GOOD FRIDAY 

Ch. Cit. Of men, and of escape from hell 
By good deeds done. But when he learned his 

power 
And flatterers came, then, in an evil hour, 
As far as I can judge, his head was turned 
A few days past, from all that we have learned 
He made this claim, and since persists therein. 
Deluders are best checked when they begin. 
So, when we heard it from this frightened 

friend. 
We took this course to bring it to an end. 

Pilate. Rightly. I thank you. Do I under- 
stand 
That friends have fallen from him since he 

planned 
To be this King? 

Ch. Cit. They have, the most part. 

Pilate. Why? 

What makes them turn? 

Ch. Cit. The claim is blasphemy 

Punished by death under the Jewish laws. 



GOOD FRIDAY 11 

Pilate. And under ours, if sufficient cause 
Appear, and yet, if all the Jews despise 
This claimant's folly, would it not be wise 
To pay no heed, not make important one 
Whom all contemn? 

Ch. Cit. His evil is not done. 

His claim persists, the rabble's mind will turn. 
Better prevent him. Lord, by being stem. 
The man has power. 

Pilate. That is true, he has. 

Ch. Cit. His is the first claim since the 
Baptist was, 
Better not let it thrive. 

Pilate. It does not thrive. 

Ch. Cit. All ill weeds prosper. Lord, if left 
aUve. 
The soil is ripe for such a weed as this. 
The Jews await a message such as his, 
The Anointed Man, of whom our Holy Books 
Prophesy much. The Jewish people looks 
For Him to come. 



12 GOOD FRIDAY 

Pilate. These ancient prophecies 

Are drugs to keep crude souls from being wise. 
Time and again Rome proves herself your 

friend; 
Then some mad writing brings it to an end. 
Time and again, until my heart is sick, 
Dead prophets spreading madness in the quick. 
And now this Jesus whom I hoped to save. 
Have you the depositions? 

Ch. Cit. Yes, I have. 

Pilate. Give me. 

Ch. Cit. This is the docquet. 

Pilate. This is grave. 

Ch. Cit. I thought that you would think so. 

Pilate. I will learn 

What he can say to this and then return. 
Wait. I must speak. Although I shall not 

spare 
Anyone, man or woman, who may dare 
To make a claim that threatens Roman rule, 
I do not plan to be a priestly tool. 



GOOD FRIDAY 13 

I know your Temple plots; pretend not here 
That you, the priest, hold me, the Roman, 

dear. 
You, like the other Jews, await this King 
Who is to set you free, who is to ding 
Rome down to death, as your priests' brains 

suppose. 
This case of Jesus shows it, plainly shows. 
He and his claim were not at once disowned; 
You waited, while you thought ^'He shall be 

throned. 
We will support him, if he wins the crowd/' 
You would have, too. He would have been en- 
dowed 
With all your power to support his claim 
Had he but pleased the rabble as at first. 
But, since he will not back the priestly aim. 
Nor stoop to lure the multitude, you thirst 
To win my favor by denouncing him. 
This rebel does not suit the Sanhedrim. 
I know. . . . The next one may. 



14 GOOD FRIDAY 

Ch. Cit. You wrong us, Sire. 

Pilate. Unless he blench, you 'complish your 

desire 

With Jesus, though; there is no king save Rome 

Here, while I hold the reins. Wait till I come. 

[Exit Pilate. 
The Madman. Only a penny, a penny, 
LiUes brighter than any 
White liUes picked for the Feast. 

He enters, tapping with his stick. 

I am a poor old man who cannot see, 
Will the great noble present tell to me 
If this is the Paved Court? 

Ch. Cit. It is. 

Madman. Where men 

Beg for a prisoner's freedom? 

Ch. Cit. Yes. What then? 

Madman. I come to help the choosing. 

Ch. Cit. You can go. 

Madman. Where, lord? 



GOOD FRIDAY 15 

Ch. Cit. Why, home. You hear that noise 
below, 
Or are you deaf? 

Madman. No, lordship, only bUnd. 

Ch. Cit. Come this-day-next-year if you 
have the mind. 
This year you come too late, go home again. 

Madman. Lord. Is the prisoner loosed? 

Ch. Cit. Yes, in the lane. 

Can you not hear them cry ^^Barabbas" there? 

Madman. Barabbas, Lord? 

Ch. Cit. The prisoner whom they bear 

In triumph home. 

Madman. Barabbas? 

Ch. Cit. Even he. 

Madman. x\re not you wrong, my Lord? 

Ch. Cit. Why should I be? 

Madman. There was another man in bonds, 
most kind 
To me, of old, who suffer, being blind. 
Surely they called for him? One Jesus? No? 



16 GOOD FRIDAY 

Ch. Cit. The choice was made a little while 
ago. 
Barabbas is set free, the man you name 
Is not to be released. 

Madman. And yet I came 

Hoping to see him loosed. 

Ch. Cit. He waits within 

Till the just pain is fitted to his sin. 
It will go hard with him, or I mistake. 
Pray God it may. 

Madman. I sorrow for his sake. 

Ch. Cit. God's scathe. 

Enter more Jews. 

Madman. A penny for the love of Heaven. 
A given penny is a sin forgiven. 
Only a penny, friends. 

1st Cit. The case was proved. He uttered 
blasphemy. 
Yet Pilate gives him stripes : the man should die. 

3rd Cit. Wait here awhile. It is not over yet. 



GOOD FRIDAY 17 

This is the door, the man shall pay his debt. 
After the beating they will let him go 
And we shall catch him. 

2nd Cit. We will treat him so 

That he will not be eager to blaspheme 
So glibly, soon. 

3rd Cit. We will. 

1st Cit. Did Pilate seem 

To you, to try to spare him? 

2nd Cit. Ay, he did, 

The Roman dog. 

3rd Cit. We will not. 

2nd Cit. God forbid. 

1st Cit. Well, we^ll stay here. 

2nd Cit. We will anoint this King. 

Ch. Cit. You talk of Jesus? 

1st Cit. Yes. 

Ch. Cit. I had to bring 

News from the Temple but a minute past, 
To-day is like to be King Jesus' last. 

1st Cit. So? 



18 GOOD FRIDAY 

Ch. Cit. It is sure. Wait here a little while. 

1st Cit. We mean to, Lord. His tongue 
shall not defile 
Our Lord again, by God. 

Ch. Cit. By a happy chance 

There came a hang-dog man with looks askance, 
Troubled in mind, who wished to speak with us. 
He said that he had heard the man speak thus 
That he was the Messiah, God in man. 
He had believed this, but his doubts began 
When Jesus, not content, claimed further things; 
To be a yoke upon the necks of Kings, 
Emperor and Priest. Then, though he found 

him kind 
In friendship, he was troubled. With bowed 

mind 
He came to us and swore what Jesus claimed. 
This Emperor over Kings will now be tamed. 

Voices. Will Pilate back the priests? 

Ch. Cit. He cannot fail. 

It threatens Roman power. 



GOOD FRIDAY 19 

A Voice. Listen, friends, 

Pilate is coming; hark! the sitting ends. 
No. Tis the Bench. 

[The bench is set by Slaves.] 

What will Lord Pilate do? 

The Slaves do not answer. 

You Nubian eunuchs answer to the Jew. 
Is the man cast? 

A Slave. The circumcised will see 

When Rome is ready. 

[Goes in and shuts the door.] 

A Voice. There. They nail a tree. 

They make a cross, for those are spikes being 

driven. 
He's damned. 

A Voice. Not so, he still may be forgiven. 
The cross may be for one of those two thieves. 

A Voice. I had forgotten them. 

A Voice. This man believes 

That Pilate was incUned to let him go. 



20 GOOD FRIDAY 

2nd Cit. That was before this charge came. 
A Voice. Even so 

This Roman swine is fond of swine Uke these. 
A Voice. Come, Pilate, come. 
A Voice. He will not have much ease 

This Paschal Feast, if Jesus is not cast. 
A Voice. There is the door. Lord Pilate 
comes at last. 
No. 'Tis the trumpet. 

[A Trumpeter comes out.] 
Voices. Blow the trumpet, friend. 

A Voice. Roman. Recruit. When will the 

sitting end? 
Voices. Fling something at him. Roman. 
A Voice. O, have done. 

He will not hang until the midday sun 
And we shall lose our sleeps. Let sentence pass. 
A Voice [singing]. As I came by the market 
I heard a woman sing: 
^^My love did truly promise to wed me with a 
ring. 



GOOD FRIDAY 21 

But, oh, my love deceived me and left me here 

forlorn 
With my spirit full of sorrow, and my baby to 
be bom.'' 

A Voice. Why are you standing here? 

A Voice. I came to see. 

A Voice. 0, did you so? 

A Voice. Why do you look at me? 

A Voice. You were his friend: you come 
from Galilee. 

A Voice. I do not. 

A Voice. Yes, you do. 

A Voice. I tell you. No. 

A Voice. You know this man quite well. 

A Voice. I do not know 

One thing about him. 

A Voice. Does he know the cur? 

A Voice. Ay, but denies. He was his follower. 

A Voice. I was not. 

A Voice. Why, I saw you in the hall, 

I watched you. 



22 GOOD FRIDAY 

A Voice. I was never there at all. 

A Voice. So would be a King. 

A Voice. That was the plan. 

A Voice. I swear to God I never saw the 

man. 
A Voice. He did; you liar; fling him down 

the stair. 
A Voice. I did not, friends. I hate the man, 

I swear. 
Voices. You swear too much for truth, down 

with him, sons. 
Leave him, here's Pilate. 

Enter Longinus and Soldiers. 

LoNGiNUS. Stand back. Keep further back. 
Get down the stair, 
Stop all this wrangUng. Make less babble 

there. 
Keep back yet further. See you keep that line. 
Silence. These Jewish pigs. 
The Jews. The Roman swine. 



GOOD FRIDAY 23 

Enter Pilate. 

Pilate. Longinus. 

LoNGiNUS. Lord. 

Pilate. No Jew here thinks him King. 
They want his blood. 

Longinus. They would want anything 

That would beguile the hours until the Feast. 

Pilate. I would be glad to disappoint the 
priest. 
I like this Jesus man. A man so wise 
Ought not to end through crazy prophecies. 
Still, he persists. 

Longinus. They are a stubborn breed. 

The medicine Cross is what they mostly need. 

Pilate. Still, this man is, in fact, a kind of king, 
A God beside these beasts who spit and sting, 
The best Jew I have known. 

Longinus. He had his chance. 

Pilate. O, yes, he had. We'll let the Jews 
advance 
Into the court. I tried to set him free. 



24 GOOD FRIDAY 

Still, if he will persist, the thing must be. 
And yet I am sorry. 

LoNGiNUS. I am sorry, too. 

He seemed a good brave fellow, for a Jew. 
Still, when a man is mad there is no cure 
But death, like this. 

Pilate. I fear so. 

LoNGiNus. I am sure. 

Shall I begin? 

Pilate. Yes. 

LoNGiNus. Sound the Assembly. [Trumpet.] 
Sound 
The Imperial call. [Trumpet.] 

Pilate. You people, gathered round. 

Behold your King. 

Voices. Our King. I see him. Where? 
That heap of clothes behind the soldiers there. 
He has been soundly beaten. Look, he bleeds. 
A cross on Old Skull Hill is what he needs. 

Pilate. What would you, then, that I should 
do to him? 



GOOD FRIDAY 25 

Voices. Stone the blasphemer, tear hun Umb 
from limb, 
Kill him with stones, he uttered blasphemy. 
Give him to us, for us to crucify. 
Crucify! 

Pilate. Would you crucify your King? 

Voices. He is no King of ours ; we have no King 
But Caesar. Crucify! 

Pilate. Bring pen and ink. 

LoNGiNus. Hold up the prisoner, Lucius; 
give him drink. 

Pilate. I come to sentence. 

Servant. Writing things, my lord. 

Pilate. Fasten the parchment to the piece 
of board. 
So. I will write. 

Voices. What does his writing mean? 

It is the sentence of this Nazarene, 
Condemning him to death. A little while 
And he'll be ours. See Lord Pilate smile. 
Why does he smile? 



26 GOOD FRIDAY 

Pilate. Longinus. 

LoNGiNus. Lord. 

Pilate. Come here. 

Go to that man, that upland targeteer, 
I want this writ in Hebrew. Bid him write 
Big easy letters that will catch the sight. 
Longinus. I will, my lord. Make way. 

[Exit Longinus. 
A Voice. What's on the scroll? 

A Voice. It gives the prisoner into his con- 
trol 
To nail to death, the foul blaspheming beast. 
A Voice. D'you think he will be dead before 

the Feast? 
A Voice. They'll spear him if he lingers until 

dark. 
A Voice. When Feast begins he will be stiff 
and stark. 
There's little life left in him as it is. 

Voices. We'll hammer iron through those 
hands of his, 



GOOD FRIDAY 27 

And through his feet, and when the cross is set 
Jolt it; remember. I will not forget. 

A Voice. Here comes the sentence. 

[Enter Longinus. 

A Voice. Wait; it is not signed. 

A Voice. Come to the hill, you will be left 
behind. 
I want a good place at the cross's foot. 

A Voice. I've got a stone for when they 
move the brute. 
Besides, I mean to bait him on the way. 
I'll spatter him with filth. 

A Voice. No, come away. 

Pilate. Imperial finding in the High Priest's 
suit. 
In the name of Caesar and of Rome. . . . 

Longinus. Salute. 

Pilate. I, Procurator of Judaea, say 
That Jesus, called the King, be led away 
To death by crucifixion, here and now. 
In the name of Caesar and of Rome. . . . 



28 GOOD FRIDAY 

LoNGiNus. We bow 

To the sentence of the court. 

Pilate. See sentence done. 

This is your warrant. 

LoNGiNUS. Sentence shall be done. 

Voices. Away, friends, hurry. Keep a place 
for me. 
Get there before they come, then we shall see 
All of the naiUng and the fixing on. 

Pilate. Longinus. 

LoNGiNus. Lord. 

Pilate. Display this scroll upon 

The head of Jesus' cross, that men may read. 
Wait; I'll declare it publicly. Take heed. . . . 
I add this word, that over Jesus' head 
This scroll shall be displayed till he is dead. 
Show it, Longinus. Read it if you choose. 

Voices. '^ Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the 
Jews." 
We'll make him King, we'll set him up in 
state. 



GOOD FRIDAY 29 

At Golgotha. Come; drag him through the gate. 
Give him his cross. Come, soldiers. 

Ch. Cit. Israel, wait. 

Wait. I must speak. Lord Pilate. 

Voices. Stand aside. . . . 

Are we to miss his being crucified? 

Ch. Cit. Wait. Only wait. One word. 

Madman. Lord Pilate. Lord. 

Sentry. Stand back. 

Madman. I'll speak. 

Sentry. I'll tame you with the sword. 

Madman. Lord Pilate, Jesus is an upright 
man, 
I heard his teaching since it first began. 
You are mistaken, Lord, you are misled. 
Spare him, great King. 

Sentry. Get down. 

Madman. Kill me instead. 

He never said this thing. [He is beaten aside.] 

LoNGiNUS. The company, 

Attention. Front. Take up the prisoner. By 



30 GOOD FRIDAY 

The left, quick wheel. Down to the courtyard, 
wheel. 

The Troops go out by the doors, into 

the barracks, so as to reach the main gate 

from within. The Prisoner is not shown, 

but only suggested. 

A Voice. He cannot lift his cross, I saw him 

reel. 
A Voice. We'll find a man to bring it. 
Hurry, friends. 
Three to be nailed. 

A Voice. The thieves will make good ends; 
They always do. This fellow will die soon. 
A Voice. The troops will spear them all be- 
fore full moon. 
Come; watch them march them out. 

Get mud to fling. 
They hurry down the staircase O.P. side. 
Ch. Cit. [to Pilate]. Lord Pilate, do not 
write ''Jesus the King," 
But that ''He called himself, 'Jesus the King.'" 



GOOD FRIDAY 31 

Pilate. Empty this water here. 

[Servant does.] 
Remove this board. 
Take in the bench. 

Ch. Cit. I have to ask, my lord, 

That you will change the wording of your scroll, 
My lord, it cuts my people to the soul. 

Pilate. Tell Caius Scirrus that I want him. 

[Exit Servant.] 
So. [To Chief Citizen.] 
What I have written, I have written. Go. 

Exit Chief Citizen. Pilate watches 
him. A yell below as the Troops march 
out from the main gate. Longinus' voice 
is heard shouting. 
LoNGiNUS. Right wheel. Quick march. 
Close up. Keep your files close. 

A march is played, oboe and trumpet. 
Pilate goes in, the Troops salute, the 
bronze doors are closed, but a Sentry standi 
outside them. The Madman remains. 



32 GOOD FRIDAY 

Madman. They cut my face, there's blood 
upon my brow. 
So, let it run, I am an old man now, 
An old, blind beggar picking filth for bread. 
Once I wore silk, drank wine, 
Spent gold on women, feasted, all was mine; 
But this uneasy current in my head 
Burst, one full moon, and cleansed me, then I saw 
Truth like a perfect crystal, life its flaw, 
I told the world, but I was mad, they said. 

I had a valley farm above a brook, 

My sheep bells there were sweet. 

And in the summer heat 

My mill wheels turned, yet all these things they 

took; 
Ah, and I gave them, all things I forsook 
But that green blade of wheat. 
My own souFs courage, that they did not take. 

I will go on, although my old heart ache. 
Not long, not long. 



GOOD FRIDAY 33 

Soon I shall pass behind 

This changing veil to that which does not 

change, 
My tired feet will range 
In some green valley of eternal mind 
Where Truth is daily like the water's song. 

Enter the Chief Citizen. 

Ch. Cit. Where is Lord Pilate? 

Madman. Gone within, 

Ch. Cit. You heard 

The way he spoke to me? 

Madman. No, not a word. 

The dogs so bayed for blood, I could not hear. 
Ask the tall sentry yonder with the spear. 

Ch. Cit. I wish to see Lord Pilate. 

Sentry. Stand aside. 

Ch. Cit. Send word to him; I cannot be 
denied. 
I have to see him; it concerns the State 
Urgently, too, I tell you. 



34 GOOD FRIDAY 

Sentry. It can wait. 

Ch. Cit. It may mean bloodshed. 

Sentry. Bloodshed is my trade. 

A sentry's orders have to be obeyed 
The same as God's, that you were talking of. 

Ch. Cit. I tell you, I must see him. 

Sentry. That's enough. 

You cannot now. 

Madman. The soldier's words are true. 

Ch. Cit. Could you send word? 

Sentry. Sir, I have answered you. 

Ch. Cit. Those words that Pilate wrote, the 
Hebrew screed, 
May cause a riot. 

Madman. Yes? 

Ch. Cit. And death. 

Sentry. Indeed. 

You got the poor man's life, what would you 
more? 

Ch. Cit. Means to see Pilate. 

Sentry. As I said before. 



GOOD FRIDAY 35 

You cannot. Stand away. A man like you 
Ought to know better than to lead a crew 
To yell for a man's blood. God stop my breath, 
What does a man hke you with blood and death? 
Goto. 

Ch. Cit. You will not send? 

Sentry. I will not send. 

Ch. Cit. [going]. You shall regret this. 

Sentry. Right. Goodbye, my friend. 

Ch. Cit. Means will be found. 

[ExiL 

Sentry. These priests, these preaching folk. 

[Pause. Sings,] 

''Upon a siunmer morning, I bade my love 

goodbye, 

In the old green glen so far away, 

To go to be a soldier on biscuits made of rye.'^ 

It is darker than it was. 

Madman. It is falUng dark. 

Sentry. It feels hke earthquake weather. 
Listen. 



36 GOOD FRIDAY 

Madman. Hark. 

Sentry. It sounded like a shock inside the 
walls. 

Madman. God celebrates the madman's 
funerals. 

Sentry. The shouts came from the Temple. 

Madman. Yes, they sing 

Glory to God there, having killed their King. 

Sentry. You knew that man they are hang- 
ing? 

Madman. Yes. Did you? 

Sentry. Not till I saw him scourged. Was he 
a Jew? 

Madman. No. Wisdom comes from God, 
and he was wise. 
I have touched wisdom since they took my eyes. 

Sentry. So you were blinded? Why? 

Madman. Thinking aloud, 

One Passover. 

Sentry. How so? 

Madman. I told the crowd 



GOOD FRIDAY 37 

That only a bloody God would care for blood. 
The crowd kill kids and smear the lintel wood, 
To honor God, who lives in the pure stars. 
Sentry. You must have suffered; they are 

angry scars. 
Madman. There is no scar inside. 
Sentry. That may be so; 

Still, it was mad; men do not wish to know 
The truth about their customs, nor aught else. 

[Cries off.] 
Madman. They have nailed the teacher Jesus 

by those yells. 
Sentry. It is darker. There'll be earthquake 
before night. 
What sort of man was he? 

Madman. He knew the right 

And followed her, a stony road, to this. 

Sentry. I find sufficient trouble in what is 
Without my seeking what is right or wrong. 
Madman. All have to seek her, and the 
search is long. 



38 GOOD FRIDAY 

Sentky. Maybe. 
Madman. And hard. 

Sentry. Maybe. (Pause.) 

[Sings.] 
^^ I mean to be a captain before I do return, 
Though the winters they may freeze and the 

sunamers they may bum, 
I mean to be a captain and command a hundred 

men 
And the women who . . . [A bugle call off.] ^' 
There is recall. 

The doors are opened and the Sentry goes. 
Madman. The wild-duck, stringing through 
the sky, 
Are south away. 

Their green necks glitter as they fly, 
The lake is gray, 

So still, so lone, the fowler never heeds. 
The wind goes rustle, rustle, through the 
reeds. 



GOOD FRIDAY 39 

There they find peace to have their own wild 

souls. 
In that still lake, 

Only the moonrise or the wind controls 
The way they take, 
Through the gray reeds, the cocking moorhen's 

lair. 
Rippling the pool, or over leagues of air. 

Not thus, not thus are the wild souls of men. 

No peace for those 

Who step beyond the blindness of the pen 

To where the skies unclose. 

For them the spitting mob, the cross, the crown 

of thorns. 
The bull gone mad, the saviour on his horns. 

Beauty and Peace have made 
No peace, no still retreat. 
No solace, none. 
Only the unafraid 
Before life's roaring street 



40 GOOD FRIDAY 

Touch Beauty's feet, 

Know Truth, do as God bade, 

Become God's son. [Pause.] 

Darkness come down, cover a brave man's pain. 
Let the bright soul go back to God again. 
Cover that tortured flesh, it only serves 
To hold that thing which other power nerves. 
Darkness, come down, let it be midnight here. 
In the dark night the untroubled soul sings clear. 

[It darkens.] 
I have been scourged, blinded and crucified, 
My blood bums on the stones of every street 
In every town; wherever people meet 
I have been hounded down, in anguish died. 

[It darkens.] 
The creaking door of flesh rolls slowly back. 
Nerve by red nerve the links of living crack. 
Loosing the soul to tread another track. 

Beyond the pain, beyond the broken clay, 
A glimmering country lies 



GOOD FRIDAY 41 

Where life is being wise, 

All of the beauty seen by truthful eyes 

Are liUes there, growing beside the way. 

Those golden ones will loose the torted hands. 

Smooth the scarred brow, gather the breaking 

soul. 
Whose earthly moments drop like falling sands 
To leave the spirit whole. 
Now darkness is upon the face of the earth. 

[He goes,] 
Pilate [entering , as the darkness reddens to a 

glare]. 
Pilate. This monstrous day is in the pangs 

of birth. 
There was a shock. I wish the troops were 

back 
From Golgotha. The heavens are more black 
Than in the great shock in my first year's rule. 
Please God these zealot pilgrims will keep cool 
Nor think this done by God for any cause. 
The Ughtning jags the heaven in bloody scraws 



42 GOOD FRIDAY 

Like chronicles of judgment. Now it breaks. 
Now rain. 

Procula [entering]. Pilate. 

Pilate. What? 

Procula. For all our sakes 

Speak. Where is Jesus? 

Pilate. He is crucified. 

Procula. Crucified? 

Pilate. Put to death. My wife, I tried 
To save him, but such men cannot be saved. 
Truth to himself till death was all he craved. 
He has his will. 

Procula. So what they said is true. 

O God, my God. But when I spoke to you 
You said that you had warned him. 

Pilate. That is so. 

Another charge was brought some hours ago, 
That he was claiming to be that great King 
Foretold by prophets, who shall free the Jews. 
This he persisted in. I could not choose 
But end a zealot claiming such a thing. 



GOOD FRIDAY 43 

Procula. He was no zealot. 

Pilate. Yes, on this one point. 

Had he recanted, well. But he was firm. 
So he was cast. 

Procula. The gouts of gore anoint 
That temple to the service of the worm. 
It is a desecration of our power. 
A rude poor man who pitted his pure sense 
Against what holds the world its little hour. 
Blind force and fraud, priests' mummery and 

pretence. 
Could you not see that this is what he did? 

Pilate. Most clearly, wife. But Roman laws 
forbid 
That I should weigh, Uke God, the worth of souls. 
I act for Rome, and Rome is better rid 
Of these rare spirits whom no law controls. 
He broke a statute, knowing from the first 
Whither his act would lead, he was not blind. 

Procula. No, friend, he followed hungry and 
athirst 



44 GOOD FRIDAY 

The lonely exaltation of his mind. 

So Rome, our mother, profits by his death, 

You think so? 

Pilate. Ay. 

Procula. We draw securer breath, 

We Romans, for his gasping on the cross? 

Pilate. Some few will be the calmer for his 
loss. 
Many, perhaps; he made a dangerous claim. 
Even had I spared it would have been the same 
A year, or two, from now. Forget him, friend. 

Procula. I have no part nor parcel in his end 
Rather than have it thought I buy my ease. 
My body's safety, honor, dignities. 
Life and the rest at such a price of pain 
There [she stabs her own arm with her dagger] is 

my blood, to wash away the stain. 
There. There once more. It fetched too dear a 

price. 
O God, receive that soul in paradise. 

Pilate. What have you done? 



GOOD FRIDAY 45 

Procula. No matter; it atones. 

His blood will clamor from the city stones. 

Pilate. Go in. No, let me bind it. 

Procula. Someone comes. 

A councillor, I think. Ask what he wants. 

Enter Joseph. 

Joseph. Greetings, Lord Pilate. 

Pilate. And to you. 

Joseph [to Procula]. And you. 

[to Pilate]. I have a boon to ask. 
Procula. What can we do? 

Joseph. Lord Pilate, may I speak? 
Pilate [to Procula]. Go in. [She goes in.] 
Go on [to Joseph]. 
Joseph. The man called Christ, the follower 

of John, 
Was crucified to-day by your decree. 
[Pilate hows,] He was my master, very dear 

to me. 
I will not speak of that. I only crave 



46 GOOD FRIDAY 

Leave to prepare his body for the grave, 
And then to bury him. May I have leave? 

Pilate. Yes, you may have him when the 
guards give leave. 
Wait. In a case like this men may believe 
That the dead master is not really dead. 
This preaching man, this King, has been the 

head 
Of men who may be good and mean no harm, 
Whose tenets, none the less, have caused alarm 
First to the priests, and through the priests to 

me. 
I wish this preacher's followers to see 
That teaching of the kind is to be curbed. 
I mean, established truths may be disturbed. 
But not the Jews, nor Rome. You understand? 

Joseph. I follow; yes. 

Pilate. A riot might be fanned. 

Such things have been, over the martyr's grave. 

Joseph. His broken corpse is all his followers 
crave. 



GOOD FRIDAY 47 

Pilate. Why, very well then. 

Joseph. Will you give your seal? 

Pilate. My seal? What for? 

Joseph. That I may show the guard 

And have the body. 

Pilate. Gladly; but I feel . . . 

Not yet; not until dark. 

Joseph. It will be hard 

To bury him to-night . . . the feast begins. 

Pilate. I know, but still, when men are 
crucified . . . 

Joseph. There is no hope of that. The man 
has died. 

Pilate. Died? Dead already? 

Joseph. Yes. 

Pilate. 'Tis passing soon. 

Joseph. God broke that bright soul's body 
as a boon. 
He died at the ninth hour. 

Pilate. Are you sure? 

Joseph. I saw him. Lord. 



48 GOOD FRIDAY 

Pilate. I thought he would endure 

Longer than that; he had a constant mind. 

Joseph. The great soul burns the body to a 
rind. 

Pilate. But dead, already; strange. [Calling.] 

You in the court, 
Send me Longinus here with his report. 

A Voice. I will, my lord. 

Pilate. This teacher was your friend? 

Joseph. Was, is, and will be, till the great 
world end; 
Which God grant may be soon. 

Pilate. I disagree 

With teachers of new truth. For men hke me 
There is but one religion, which is Rome. 
No easy one to practise, far from home. 
You come from Ramah? 

Joseph. Yes. 

Pilate. What chance is there 

Of olives being good? 

Joseph. They should be fair. 



GOOD FRIDAY 49 

Pilate. You will not use Italian presses? No? 
Joseph. Man likes his own, my lord, however 
slow; 
What the land made, we say, it ought to use. 
Pilate. Your presses waste; oil is too good 
to lose. 
But I shall not persuade. 

Servant. Longinus, Lord. 

Pilate. Make your report, centurion. 
Where's your sword? 
What makes you come thus jangled? Are you 
ill? 
Longinus. There was a shock of earthquake 
up the hill. 
I have been shaken. I had meant to come 
Before; but I was whirled . . . was stricken 

dumb. 
I left my sword within. . . . 

Pilate. Leave it. Attend. 

Is the man, Jesus, dead? This is his friend 
Who wants to bury him, he says he is. 



60 GOOD FRIDAY 

LoNGiNUS. Jesus is out of all his miseries. 
Yes, he is dead, my lord. 

Pilate. Already? 

LoNGiNUS. Yes. 

The men who suffer most endure the less. 
He died without our help. 

Joseph. Then may I have 

His body, Lord, to lay it in the grave? 

Pilate. A sentry's there? 

LoNGiNUS. Yes, Lord. 

Pilate. Have you a scroll? 

[Takes paper.] Right. Now some wax. [Writes.] 

Give into his control 
The body of the teacher; see it laid 
Inside the tomb and see the doorway made 
Secure with stones and sealed, then bring me 

word. 
This privilege of burial is conferred 
On the conditions I have named to you. 
See you observe them strictly. 

Joseph. I will do 



GOOD FRIDAY 51 

All that himseK would ask to show my sense 
Of this last kindness. I shall go from hence 
Soon, perhap^s far; I give you thanks, my lord. 
Now the last joy the niggard fates afford; 
One little service more, and then an end 
Of that divineness touched at through our 

friend. 

[Exit. 
Pilate. See that the tomb is sealed by dark 

to-night. 
Where were you hurt, Longinus? You are 

white. 
What happened at the cross? 

LoNGiNTJS. We nailed him there 

Aloft, between the thieves, in the bright air. 
The rabble and the readers mocked with oaths. 
The hangman's squad were dicing for his 

clothes. 
The two thieves jeered at him. Then it grew 

dark. 
Till the noon sun was dwindled to a spark, 



62 GOOD FRIDAY 

And one by one the mocking mouths fell still. 
We were alone on the accursed hill 
And we were still, not even the dice clicked, 
Only the heavy blood-gouts dropped and ticked 
On to the stone; the hill is all bald stone. 
And now and then the hangers gave a groan. 
Up in the dark, three shapes with arms out- 
spread. 
The blood-drops spat to show how slow they 

bled. 
They rose up black against the ghastly sky, 
God, Lord, it is a slow way to make die 
A man, a strong man, who can beget men. 
Then there would come another groan, and then 
One of those thieves (tough cameleers those 

two) 
Would curse the teacher from lips bitten through 
And the other bid him let the teacher be. 
I have stood much, but this thing daunted me 
The dark, the livid Ught, and long long groans 
One on another, coming from their bones. 



GOOD FRIDAY 53 

And it got darker and a glare began 
Like the sky burning up above the man. 
The hangman's squad stood easy on their spears 
And the air moaned, and women were in tears, 
While still between his groans the robber cursed. 
The sky was grim: it seemed about to burst. 
Hours had passed : they seemed like awful days. 
Then . . . what was that? 

Pilate. What? Where? 

LoNGiNUS. A kind of blaze, 

Fire descending. 

Pilate. No. 

LoNGiNUS. I saw it. 

Pilate. Yes? 

What was it that you saw? 

LoNGiNUS. A fiery tress 

Making red letters all across the heaven. 
Lord Pilate, pray to God we be forgiven. 

Pilate. ^^The sky was grim," you said, there 
at the cross. 
What happened next? 



54 GOOD FRIDAY 

LoNGiNUS. The towers bent like moss 

Under the fiery figures from the sky. 
Horses were in the air, there came a cry. 
Jesus was calhng God : it struck us dumb. 
One said ^^He is calUng God. Wait. Will God 

come? 
Wait.'' And we listened in the glare. O sir, 
He was God's son, that man, that minister. 
For as he called, fire tore the sky in two, 
The sick earth shook and tossed the cross askew, 
The earthquake ran like thunder, the earth's 

bones 
Broke, the graves opened, there were falling 
stones. 

Pilate. I felt the shock even here. So? 

LoNGiNUS. Jesus cried 

Once more and drooped, I saw that he had died. 

Lord, in the earthquake God had come for him. 

The thought of 't shakes me sick, my eyes are 

dim. 

Pilate. Tell Scirrus to relieve you. 



GOOD FRIDAY 55 

LoNGiNTJS. Lord. . . . 

Pilate. Dismiss. 

Lie down and try to sleep; forget all this. 
Tell Scirrus I command it. Rest to-night. 
Go in, Longinus, go. 
LoNGiNUS. Thank you, Lord Pilate. 

[Exit Longinus. 
Pilate [alone]. No man can stand an earth- 
quake. Men can bear 
Tumults of water and of fire and air, 
But not of earth, man's grave and standing 

ground; 
When that begins to heave the will goes 

round. 
Longinus, too. [Noise helow.] Listen. 

Does Herod come? 
I heard his fifes. 

The doors open. Sekvants enter. 
Servant. Lord Herod is at hand; 

V/ill it please your Lordship robe? 

Pilate. Sprinkle fresh sand, 



56 GOOD FRIDAY 

For blood was shed to-day, here, under foot 

[He rohes.] 
Well, that; the other clasp. [Music off,] 

A Voice. Cohort. Salute. 

Pilate. Leave torches at the door. Dismiss. 

[Servants go.] 

He comes 

Welcomed by everyone; the city hums 

With joy when Herod passes. Ah, not thus 

Do I go through the town. They welcome us 

With looks of hate, with mutterings, curses, 

stones. 

Enter Procxjla. 

Come, stand with me. Welcome Lord Herod 

here. 
Welcome must make amends for barrack cheer. 

The Nubians hold torches at the door. 
Herod enters. 

Come in, good welcome, Herod. 

Procula. Welcome, sir. 



GOOD FRIDAY 57 

Herod. To Rome, to Pilate, and to Beauty, 
greeting; 
Give me your hands. What joy is in this meet- 
ing. 
Pilate, again. You, you have hurt your hand? 
Pilate. It is nothing, sir. 
Herod. Beauty has touched this land, 

A wound has followed. 

Procula. What you please to call 

Beauty, my lord, did nothing of the kind. 
An earthen vessel tilted with a wall. 

Herod. May it soon mend. Now let me 
speak my mind. 
Pilate, since you have ruled here, there have 

been 
Moments of . . . discord, shall we say? be- 
tween 
Your government and mine. I am afraid 
That I, the native here, have seldom made 
Efforts for friendship with you. 
Pilate. Come. 



58 GOOD FRIDAY 

Herod. I should 

Have done more than I have, done all I could, 
Healed the raw wound between the land and 

Rome, 
Helped you to make this hellish town a home, 
Not left it, as I fear it has been, hell 
To you and yours cooped in a citadel 
Above rebellion brewing. For the past 
I offer deep regret, grief that will last, 
And shame; your generous mind leaves me 
ashamed. 

Pilate. Really, my lord. 

Procula. These things must not be 

named. 

Pilate. It is generous of you to speak like 
this. 
But, Herod, hark. 

Procula. If things have been amiss. 

The fault was ours. 

Herod. No, the fault was mine. 

Your generous act this morning was a sign 



GOOD FRIDAY 59 

Of scrupulous justice done to me by you 
For all these years, unnoticed hitherto, 
Unrecognized, unthanked. I thank you now. 
Give me your hand . . . so . . . thus. 

Pilate. Herod, I bow 

To what you say. To think that I have done 
Something (I know not what) that has begun 
A kindUer bond between us, touches home. 
I have long grieved lest I have injured Rome 
By failing towards yourself, where other men 
Might have been wiser. . . . That is over, then? 
Our differences henceforth may be discussed 
In friendly talk together; 

Herod. So I trust. 

Pilate. Give me your hand; I have long 
hoped for this. 
I need your help, and you, perhaps, need mine. 
The tribes are restless on the border-line. 
The whole land seethes: the news from Rome 

is bad. 
But this atones. 



60 GOOD FRIDAY 

Procula. O, fully. 

Herod. I am glad. 

Pilate. Let us go in. 

Herod. You lead. 

Procula. A moment, one. . . . 

You named a generous act that he had 
done. . . . ? 

Herod. This morning, yes; you sent that man 
to me 
Because his crime was laid in Galilee. 
A little thing, but still it touched me close; 
It made me think how our disputes arose 
When thieves out of your province brought to 

me 
Were punished with a fine, perhaps set free. 
Not sent to you to judge, as you sent him. 
In future you will find me more a friend. 
Or so I hope. 

Pilate. Thanks. May the gods so send 
That this may lead to happier days for us. 

Voices of the Crowd [who are now flocking 



GOOD FRIDAY 61 

in, among them The Madman]. Herod the 
good, Herod the glorious. 
Long Ufe to Herod. 

Pilate. Come, the crowd begin. . . . 

Voices. Herod for ever. 

Pilate. Let us go within. . . . 

Herod. Yes. By the by, what happened to 
the man? 
I sent him back to you; a rumor ran 
That he was crucified. 

Pilate. He was. 

Herod. The priests 

Rage upon points of doctrine at the feasts. 

Voices. God bless you, Herod; Give you 
length of days, Herod. 

Herod [to the Crowd]. Go home. To God 
alone give praise. 
This is Deliverance Night; go home, for soon 
Over the dusty hill will come the moon. 
And you must feast, with prayer to the Adored. 
[To Pilate] He well deserved his death. 



62 GOOD FRIDAY 

Voices. God bless you, Lord. 

Pilate. I'll lead the way. . . . 
Voices. Herod. 

Herod [to Procula]. Lady, your hand. 

Procula. There is a just man's blood upon 
the sand. 
Mind how you tread. 

They go in. The bronze doors are 
closed. The crowd remains for an instant 
watching the doors. 
A Voice. Herod the Fox makes friends with 

Pilate. Why? 
A Voice. He needs a Roman loan. 
A Voice. Look at the sky, 

The Paschal moon has risen. 

A Voice. God is great. 

Why did I linger here? I shall be late. [Going.] 
A Voice. Good night and blessing. 
A Voice [going]. Pilate's color changed 

When we cheered Herod. 

A Voice. They have been estranged 



GOOD FRIDAY 63 

A long while now; but now they will be friends. 
[Going.] 
A Voice. What joy it is when Preparation 
ends. 
Now to our Feast. Do you go down the stair? 
A Voice. Yes, past the pools; will you come 

with me there? 
A Voice. I love to walk by moonlight; let 

us go. [They go.] 
A Voice [singing]. Friends, out of Egypt, 
long ago. 
Our wandering fathers came. 
Treading the paths that God did show 
By pointing cloud and flame. 
By land and sea His darkness and His light 
Led us into His peace. . . . [The voice dies 
away.] 
A Voice [off]. Good-night. 

Only The Madman remains. He takes 
lilies from a box and begins to tie them in 
bunches. 



64 GOOD FRIDAY 

Madman. Only a penny, a penny, 
Lilies brighter than any, 
Lilies whiter than snow. [He feels that he is 

alone.] 
Beautiful lilies grow 
Wherever the truth so sweet 
Has trodden with bloody feet, 
Has stood with a bloody brow. 
Friend, it is over now, 
The passion, the sweat, the pains. 
Only the truth remains. [He lays lilies down.] 

I cannot see what others see; 
Wisdom alone is kind to me. 
Wisdom that comes from Agony. 

^ H: ^ ^ ^ ^ 

Wisdom that lives in the pure skies, 
The untouched star, the spirit's eyes; 
O Beauty, touch me, make me wise. 

Curtain 











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